Polish Shadow

Steidl, 2006

Rosalind Solomon made her first pictures in Poland in 1988 during a time of political change, and returned there in 2003, a time of increasing violence and inhumanity in the world. All of the images are of individuals, their relationships and environments and are observations and commentaries on Poland itself, as well as on the rest of the world. Polish Shadow at times evokes the darkness of an earlier era and recalls the ghosts of ethnic violence, but also gives a human view of modern Poland.

For over 30 years Solomon has been producing emotional imagery which pulls the viewer into a world of sun and shadow where past and present intersect. As one commentator put it: “Rosalind Solomon embraces her subjects with unusual warmth—a combination of candor, curiosity and concern.” Her photographs provoke a physical, gut reaction and her empathy and sensitivity inform her images, giving them substance and power. Her photographs are influenced by the films of Luis Buñuel and Satyajit Ray, whom she met and photographed in Calcutta.